This pizza joint at Westview Shopping Centre prominently displays signs that are hostile to many members of our community. We recommend that you steer clear of this establishment.
The signage is displayed below. We imagine that the only reason they have felt brave enough to display such toxic messaging is because they are written in Farsi, and most Canadians will pass by in peace, oblivious to the brazen hostility being projected at some of their peers.
As translated by our members, the signs say,
Entry is strictly prohibited to dishonourable fence-sitters and pro-regime agitators.
and
Entry is strictly forbidden to mullahs, leftists, and mujahideen. Entry for dogs is not restricted.
Inside, there is another sign that says
No Iranian is Muslim and No Muslim is an Iranian. Stop being anachronistic.
These messages are gleefully and aggressively exclusionary. Rather than celebrating the owner’s beliefs, they are maligning those of other people. The messages target individuals based on political beliefs, affiliations, and even worse, religious and national identity. The explicit and degrading comparison suggesting certain groups are less welcome than animals is particularly alarming.
While we support the owner’s right to free speech, we feel that this messaging is at odds with some fundamental principles of Canadian society - namely inclusion, respect, and freedom from discrimination. The posted messages are not striking an acceptable balance between freedom of speech and freedom from discrimination.
As laid out in the BC Human Rights Code, service providers are responsible for making sure they are free from unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, for example based on identity, religion, or place of origin. We feel that Westview Fresh Pizza falls far short of its obligations here, and we urge you to avoid giving them any business.